Nightmare Understood
by SD17
Summary: Okay so more brotherly love and fluffiness from me! Which is an obsession of mine. Donny and Mikey this time, with Leo and Raph thrown in.   Mikey has a nightmare, Don comforts him.


**A/N:** Okay so more brotherly love and fluffiness from me! Which is an obsession of mine. Donny and Mikey this time, with Leo and Raph thrown in.

_Italics_ = dream and thoughts

I don't own any of our fav Turtles...I have asked for them for my birthday though, so here's hoping hehe.

* * *

><p><strong>Nightmare Understood...<strong>

_He's alone and it's dark. He is in a room, laying on a cold hard floor. But he doesn't know where he is. And it's eerily quit. He gets to his feet and starts walking, using the wall as a guide. He can't see a thing. His hand brushes a door handle. Slowly he turns it. His heart is racing. And he's not sure why. He feels the panic building in his chest. How did he get here? Where was he? He opens the door, into a dimly lit hallway. What is going on, where are his brothers? It doesn't seem right. He follows the hallway. The feeling of dread building within him. Nothing about this place seems familar. The hallway opens into a large room, broken furniture and junk is piled up every where. Then he sees him. Laying on the cement floor. His purple clad brother. There's blood every where. It covers his brother's still form. It surounds him, his bo lays broken on the floor. His eyes wide and blank. There is no life there. The orange clad turtle begins to shake. __**No**__. This can't be, he thinks. He reaches out a hand strokes his brothers cheek. Cold, he's so cold. Nooooooooo! He screams and crumples down in a heap beside his brother, sobbing. _

Mikey bolts up in bed, breathing hard and still chocking on a strangled scream. Tears are leaking from his eyes. He doesn't bother to wipe them away. His eyes adjust to the dim light and he realises that he is in his own room, tangled up in his now damp with sweat sheets. He can't catch his breath or stop shaking though, because the image of his brother, of Donny, of all the blood, won't leave his mind. He pulls himself from the mess of sheets and beelines to his brothers door. He has to see for himself that Don is okay. It occurs to Mikey as he gently pushes the door open that Don could quiet possibily stil be in his lab. But the sleeping form in the bed soon proves that not to be true. Mike lets out a breath. The gentel rise and fall of Donny's chest fills Mikey with relief, his brother is okay. But still the horrible image won't leave his head, of eyes blank and lifeless. The panic that built up in his chest won't leave. And the tears were still threatening to fall.

Mikey moves slowly into his brothers room, letting the door slide closed behind him. He moves as softly as he can to his older brothers side. Now he's not sure what to do. He's too old to do this now, he knows that. _Now he's seen that Don is okay he should just go back to his own bed _he thinks. But he wants to stay until the horrible images that keep replaying in his head are gone. Before Mikey can make a decision, his brother stirs. Don must feel Mikey's presence because he opens his eyes. Don lets them adjust to the dark room, lightly lit from the dim glow of the computer monitor in the far corner of the room.

"Mikey?" Don croaks, his voice rough with sleep. His brain works to lift him out of the fogginess and back to reality, wondering why his little brother is in his room. _Was it morning?_ Donny focuses his eyes on his brother, who hasn't said a word yet. Don reaches out and touches his arm. He can feel that Mikey is shaking, though it's not a cold night. Then Donny notices the glistening of unshead tears in Mikey eyes. And just like that he gets it. Without a second thought Don lifts his blankets and scoots over in the bed. Just like when they were young. Mikey climbs right in, not needing to be asked twice and pushes himself right into his brothers chest. Don wraps his arms around Mikey. He rubs soothing circles on Mikey's shell. Mikey hadn't done this in a long while. But Don knew, it had to have been a nightmare that made his brother shake and cling to Don as if his life depended on it.

"Want to talk about it?" Donny asks, resting his chin on the top of Mikey's head.

Mikey hasn't said a word, and Don was begining to think he wasn't going to answer, when the muffled reply came. "I don't want to be a baby about it, bu-but there was so much blood, you and blood. And I was alone, the others weren't there..." Mikey sobs. Tears coming again as he remembers his brothers cold unmoving body, laying limp on the floor. Mikey tries to bury his face closer into Don. He can hear his brothers heart beating. And he wills the terrible dream to leave his mind. Focusing on the steady rythm of his big brothers heart.

Don wraps his arms around Mikey tighter. "Shhh Mike it's okay, it was just a bad dream and your not a being a baby" Donny tries to comfort the trembling little brother in his arms.

"It just seemed so re-real" Mikey chocked on his tears.

"I know, they usually do" Don replied. "But I'm right here okay, we're all here at home, we're all safe". Don hates hearing the fear in his brothers voice. Hates seeing their usual bouncing, goofing Mikey this way.

"Only babies do this" Mikey hiccuped "I j-just wanted to see that you were okay and when I shut my eyes all I see is-is..." Mikey stutters a fresh wave of tears coming.

"Hey it's okay, I get it I do" Donny says in a soothing voice. Don really did understand. No too long ago he had a nightmare, one of the most horrific he'd ever had. He'd left his own bed to stand in Raph's doorway. He watched his older brother sleep for several minutes before forcing himself to leave. Seeing that Raph was fine. Figuring he'd never live it down if Raph had caught him.

"Can I stay here tonight?" Mikey asks, decidng that he had gone this far, what did it matter now. His voice sounding so young and child like.

"Of course Mikey" Don replies, happy that he can provide some sort of comfort to Mikey, remembering how bad nightmares used to affect Mikey as a child.

"Thanks Donny" Mikey says, finally starting to relax a little.

Don pulls the blankets up higher around Mikey. And begins gently rubbing Mikey's head, trying to lull him back to sleep. With the help of his brothers gental hands Mikey only takes a few minutes to fall back to sleep, Donny following soon after.

_TMNT TMNT TMNT TMNT_

The next morning both of the younger turtles over sleep. Leo makes way to Mikey's room to wake him. He sees Mikey's bed, an empty tangle of sheets. Slightly confused and trying not to worry Leo crosses to Donny's room. Knowing that Mike was not anywhere else in the lair. Leo breathes a sigh of relief at seeing both of his youngest brothers safe and sound. He also feels a slight twinge of worry knowing that Mikey must have had a nightmare to end up in Don's bed in the middle of the night. He hopes he's okay, remembering how as a child Mikey had always been bothered by nightmares well into the next day. Leo walks to the bed and sits down, gently nudging both of the other turtles. Don opens his eyes first. Yawing, Don looks up bleary eyed to see Leo sitting on the side of his bed.

"Sorry" Don says, realising that he has slept in, he must have forgot his alarm when he collapsed into bed. He'd been up pretty late in the lab, before his nightime guest had arrived.

Leo shakes his head "It's okay." Nodding his head towards Mikey "Nightmare?" He asks.

Don nods as he sits up, stretching.

Mikey opens his eyes to see not only Donny sitting up but Leo on his other side. Mikey starts to feel just slightly embarrassed. Now Leo knew how much of a baby he had been last night too. He'd hoped that this could just stay between Donny and himself. Although Mikey doubted Leo would make fun of him. Leo just had that look of brotherly concern on his face. Mikey was glad Raph didn't seem to be any where close. And he was grateful for that. Raph would make fun of him. And Mikey couldn't blame him. He'd sure make fun of Raph for it.

"Hey guys" Mikey says grinning, pretending there was nothing unusal going on, pretending that he wasn't still seeing the blood and Donny laying broken and still in his mind. "We over sleep?" Mikey guesses.

"Yeah sorry" Don replies. "I didn't set my alarm" he adds.

_Figures, _Mikey thinks.

"You okay Mike?" Leo asks, noticing the worried look under Mikey's trade mark grin and a hint of fear in his eyes, _the remians of the nightmare still still whirling in Mikey's head _Leo guesses.

"I'm fine" Mikey replies, as he sits up. When he was little, he would have played on it. Wanting the comfort. Not that he didn't want that now. But he knew the others already saw him as the 'baby' and he hadn't helped his case at all last night. So he didn't want to play into that role more, not over this. A silly dream.

Leo doesn't seem convinced "You sure? I mean it must have freaked you out to end up here?" Leo asks. Not trying to sound judgemental, just concerned.

Mikey looks down at the sheets. Racking his brain for a clever comeback, something to make him feel a little less silly. _It was just a dream! _He screams silently at himself. But there was only the nightmare dancing in his head.

Leo can see how uncomfortable his little brother is. As he and Donny watch him squirm for the right words. But Mikey needn't be so uncomfortable. Leo understood, he did. It was only a week or so ago that he'd been jolted awake by is own nightmare. He'd gone and sat in Mikey's room on the floor by the door for at least an hour. Making sure that in no way was what he dreamed real. Mike was still there. Mumbling in his sleep. Safe. Leo would have stayed all night, to stop the images replaying in his mind, but he didn't want to wake his little brother up. To freak him out. So he left. That had been a long night.

So Leo reaches out a hand and lays it gently on Mikey's shoulder. "I understand Mikey. No worries okay" He says as he stands to let the other two get out of bed. Mikey twists so his feet are on the ground. Comtemplating his brothers words.

"What the shell is takin every one so long?" Comes an irate voice, from the hall. "I'm actually up on time fer once an' everyone else is a no show."

Mikey freezes, _crap_ he thinks.

Raph appears in Don's doorway. Giving his three brothers a quizzical look, taking in Mikey as he untangles the rest of his body from Don's sheets. He deducts that Mike had slept in with Donny last night. Raph smirks, and opens his mouth to rip on Mikey for doing that at his age. But the look on Mikey's face stops him. _He looks, well haunted_. If that was the right word. Though he tries to smile and pretend things are fine. Raph sees the worry on Mikes face under his smile. Worry of being discovered. That they all knew what had occured.

Mikey and Raph share a look. _Here it comes _Mikey thinks. Raph opens and then closes his mouth. For the brefest of seconds Raph's expression softens. It almost seemed like a glimmer of, of understanding in the hotheads eyes.

"Well are ya's comin or what? Splinta's waitin" Raph huffs as he stalks back down the hall. He had wanted to ask Mikey if he was okay. But he figured Leo and Don probaly had it covered. He'd just keep an eye on him today. Mikey always took a long while to recover fully from a nightmare when they were little. Heck Raph had had a pretty disturbing dream not long back. And he hadn't been able to sleep until he'd checked on Leo. It had taken him ages to fall back to sleep. And for a fleeting second it crossed his mind to go back to Leo. Like he had done as a kid. He really had wanted to. Not that he'd admit it to anyone. Ever. Yeah the more he thought about it the more he was glad he had, for once thought before opening his mouth and not laid into Mikey about it.

As Raph sat down at the kitchen table he heard his brothers footsteps as they came down the stairs. Mikey bounded into he kitchen. Full of his usual energy, despite his ordeal. And started breakfast. The last images of the terrible dream finally begining to fade from his mind, as he focused himself on his task and fell into the comforting voices of his brothers and father as they started their day. The biggest comfort of all knowing that he had his brothers understanding, they got it. Even Raph. The more Mike thought about the more he realised that he wouldn't have made fun of Raph if their roles had been reversed.

_Well, maybe just a little._

* * *

><p>I love reviews. Let me know what you think. I'm not sure if I am completely happy with the ending. I don't know wether I should have added that last line. I don't want to ruin the over all tone of the story. But at the same time it seemed a very Mikey thing to think. Hmmmm.<p> 


End file.
